Within a July 31, 2008
article, "America's Most overpriced zip codes" ( original
Forbes version ) ( Yahoo
reprint with hyperlinks )
Matt Woolsey of Forbes reports on recent innovations by the
real estate map based websites hotpads.com
and trulia.com
.

These websites have bought
the provision of real estate information to a new level -
with superb graphics, making it significantly easier for
purchasers and renters to access listings and information
about the locations they are interested in. Some of the
statistics from official sources (particularly individual
and household incomes) are dated and need to be updated as
soon as possible.

In having said that - the
comprehensiveness of the information - and with respect to
hotpads com - the standard of the graphics and navigability,
can only be described as "simply superb".

Mr Woolsey's
article focuses on a recent innovation by hotpads com -
where p/e (price earnings) ratios information is provided to
assist consumers in deciding whether it is more advantageous
to rent or purchase in certain areas.

The price /
earnings ratio expresses how many times of annual rental it
would take to purchase properties in a particular area. This
methodology needs to be kept in perspective - as Mr Woolsey
outlines within his article.

It is to be hoped that web
based real estate information services consider using the
Median Multiple (median house price divided by gross annual
median household income) as employed by Demographia
and Harvard
University and as recommended
by the World Bank
and United
Nations.

Urban markets housing should not exceed three
times household income as explained within "Getting
performance urban
planning
in place"

Mr Woolsey's Forbes article 'Americas
most overpriced zip codes' -
commences by stating "In San Jose, Calif., home to Silicon
Valley and some of the highest values in the country, a
bumper sticker reads 'Dear God, one more bubble before I
die'."

Faint hope.

The reality is - that once the
costs in social and economic terms - become more obvious and
are experienced by increasing numbers of people within
"bubble markets", policymakers will be forced to deal with
the structural issues of land supply and infrastructure
financing to ensure these unnecessary and hugely destructive
urban housing bubbles do not get underway again.

This
will be driven by the finance sector as well - which will
increasingly differentiate between normal urban markets that
maintain housing at or below three time's household income
and those that fail in this regard.

People and
businesses also expose themselves to greater risks by
locating in poorly governed markets with unstable bubble
priced housing and increased living costs as illustrated
within Professor Edward Glaeser of Harvard University recent
article "Houston:
New York has a problem.

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